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The Two-Way

Former Vermont Sen. Jeffords, Who Once Tipped Senate Scale, Dies

Originally published on Tue August 19, 2014 12:18 pm

By editor

Former Vermont Sen. James Jeffords died Monday at the age of 80, a former aide said.

Mark WilsonGetty Images

Former Sen. James Jeffords, whose exit from the GOP gave Democrats temporary control of the Senate, died Monday, a former aide said. The Vermont senator was 80 years old and living in a retirement community in Washington.

Jeffords stunned the political establishment when he switched to become an independent in 2001.

"Jeffords' decision caused a national uproar," reports Vermont Public Radio's Steve Zind. However, he tells our Newscast Desk, Jeffords' "long-standing moderate-to-liberal views and his work on education and environmental issues were a comfortable fit for many of his constituents who continued to support him."

Jeffords had a career spanning more than three decades. The Globe has this background:

"He won election to the House in 1974 as a Republican. The post-Watergate year was a strong one for Democrats nationally, but Jeffords was running as Vermont was just beginning his shift from a century of solid Republicanism to its current status as among the most liberal states.

"The Rutland native, a graduate of Yale and Harvard Law School, already had won statewide office as attorney general and was from a well-known Vermont Republican family. His father, Olin Jeffords, had been chief justice of the state Supreme Court."